This Treehouse Has It All

Salvaged fence boards, given new life, help Jay Nelson create dwellings that blend with nature

Reclaimed wood? Redwood trees? Fantasy world inspiration? Yes, this treehouse has it all. In this DIY TV video, via Adventure Journal, Jay Nelson, "Fort Builder" talks about how he crafts homes-slash-art pieces out of old redwood fence boards. His geometric creations include a camper onboard a flat-bed pickup truck, a dwelling cantilevered between two redwood trees and a hanging globe-shaped "instant treehouse."

His found, salvaged materials are inspiration as well as a fantasy world: "I played a lot of Zelda as a kid," he says. "I think Zelda is a great metaphor for life."

Nelson explains how a run through a surface planer strips away the top layer of weathered wood from his fence boards and exposes the beauty underneath — tight-grained heartwood from redwood trees.